ORIGINATION OF THINGS 343 



of essence (through which more things are compossible 

 the greater it is) is the principle of existence. Whence 

 at the same time it is manifest how the Author of the 

 world is free, although He does all things determinately, 

 for He acts from a principle of wisdom or perfection. 

 Indifference springs from ignorance, and the wiser a 

 man is the more is he determined towards that which is 

 most perfect 21 . 



~T3ul, you will* say, however beautiful may seem this 

 comparison of a certain metaphysical determining me- 

 chanism with the physical mechanism of heavy bodies, 

 it nevertheless fails in this respect that heavy bodies 

 really exist and act, but possibilities or essences anterior 

 to existence or apart from it are imaginary or fictitious 

 and therefore no reason 22 of existence is to be sought in 

 them. I reply that neither these essences nor what are 

 called eternal truths regarding these essences are ficti- 

 tious, but that they exist in a certain region (if I may so 

 call it) of ideas, that is to say, in God Himself, the source 

 of all essence and of the existence of other things. That 

 this is not a mere gratuitous assertion of mine is shown 

 by the existence of the actual series of things. For since 

 the reason of the series is not to be found in itself, as has 

 been shown above, but is to be sought in metaphysical 

 necessities or eternal truths, and since existing things 

 can come only from existing things, as we have already 

 remarked, eternal truths must have existence in some 

 absolutely or 23 metaphysically necessary subject, that is, 

 in God, through whom these things which would other- 

 wise be imaginary are (to use a barbarous but expressive 

 word) realized 24 . ^ 



And indeed we actually find that all things in the 



21 Cf. Introduction, Part iii. p. 145. 



22 Or ' ground.' 23 E. reads ' and.' 



24 That is to say, God gives them a certain reality or existence in 

 His understanding, as distinct from existence in the actual world, which 

 belongs to contingent things. Cf. Monadology, 43, 44, 46 and 

 47, note 75. 



